Relocating to South East England?

Hi everyone, as the title says we’re considering relocating from Manchester. Although we have no idea where to start in terms of areas?!
Please can you give me some ideas of where to look that’s not necessarily on the commute into the city, family friendly, good schools, good community with good shopping, eating and socialising?

Newbury is nice, I work there half the week and it’s got great parks and lots of events etc. Kind of like a village but the size of a town!
I live in Basingstoke which is busier and probably not as family/socially focussed - but I commute to London and it’s great for that (it’s 45 mins to London and 45 mins to the beach).

I’m living in Southampton which is on the coast. It depends what you’re looking for - there’s lots of little villages around places like Basingstoke (I was brought up there it’s an okay town) so if you’re looking for villages try searching on the outskirts there. If you’re looking for towns there’s Newbury, Basingstoke.
There’s cities like Southampton, Winchester.

Obviously there’s also Bournemouth which is amazing and right next to a beach.

I live near Chichester which is a cathedral city in the south , west Sussex. It's beautiful city, good schools and town centre. However Chichester itself is very pricy to live so we live in Barnham about 10-15 mins away which is a nice quiet village. There are loads of nice little villages close to the city around here.

I used to live in a village called Twyford, just outside of Winchester. It’s beautiful with a lot of community spirit, lots of events like the annual Duck Race and village fair. Has a shop, school and a doctors surgery as well as a cafe and two pubs and Winchester (one of my favourite ever places is just down the road.) Downside is that houses here are very expensive.

Hatch Warren and Kempshott in Basingstoke are really nice. Excellent schools and, whilst it is a pop up town, the town centre has all you need. It is on the London commuter belt so houses here are fast moving and on the pricey side.

The New Forest is another great option, particularly if you are not looking to commute into London. Many spots are just a short drive from the convenience of Southampton which is full of great shops and restaurants. The quaint village of Hythe connects by ferry and nearby Dibden Purlieu is popular with families and has a nice little High Street. Places like Marchwood, Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst offer some good options too and, if anything pops up in the gorgeous village of Beaulieu, it might be worth a view!

I live in East Sussex I grew up in a village near Brighton. Not much to do as a kid but a nice place.

I lived in Hayward’s heath which I wouldn’t recommend it’s too much like a commuter town for me and really expensive.

We now live near Eastbourne, which has plenty of baby groups our house was £100,000 less than in Hayward’s Heath for the same model so there’s a big difference propertywise. It has the usual eateries (Toby carver, Wetherspoons, harvester etc) plus a lot of independent eateries.

Eastbourne has the rep of many old people but I love it here, the old people love babies and it feels safer than Brighton and Hastings but close enough to both to access if needed

Wow there’s so many recommendations, thank you all! I’ll be checking each and everyone out.
I’m terms of what we’d like out of a place, including good school choices and plenty to see and do, we also like to eat out. So similar to South Manchester like Hale, Bramhall etc but a better quality of life and weather I think is what we’re looking for?

I live near Chichester which is a cathedral city in the south , west Sussex. ...

Posted
09/07/2018

I live near Chichester which is a cathedral city in the south , west Sussex. It's beautiful city, good schools and town centre. However Chichester itself is very pricy to live so we live in Barnham about 10-15 mins away which is a nice quiet village. There are loads of nice little villages close to the city around here.

I'm from the same area originally, lived in bognor Regis for years, but I've also lived all over Sussex and its gorgeous, great place to live. I've now moved to Reading and there's some lovely places round here too, the town itself is expensive but the surrounding villages are nice and the countryside is great.

What are the things you're looking for? Is there a job or commute to take into consideration? Do you prefer coast or hills? Or even both! City life or looking for green spaces?

I'm from the same area originally, lived in bognor Regis for years, but I...

Posted
09/07/2018

I'm from the same area originally, lived in bognor Regis for years, but I've also lived all over Sussex and its gorgeous, great place to live. I've now moved to Reading and there's some lovely places round here too, the town itself is expensive but the surrounding villages are nice and the countryside is great.

What are the things you're looking for? Is there a job or commute to take into consideration? Do you prefer coast or hills? Or even both! City life or looking for green spaces?

Hi! I’m terms of what we’d like out of a place, including good school choices and plenty to see and do, we also like to eat out. So similar to South Manchester like Hale, Bramhall etc but a better quality of life and weather I think is what we’re looking for?

It wouldn’t be work related so a commute isn’t necessary and close to (but not too close) to the coast x

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